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Transatlantic Policy Workshop: Bucerius “Settling Into Motion” Fellows in Washington, D.C. and New York City

The Transatlantic Policy Workshop was held from October 16th to 21st, 2011 in Washington DC and New York City. The participants, 24 international Ph.D. fellows supported by the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius within the “Settling Into Motion” migration studies program, were invited to engage in a policy-oriented analysis of international migration, immigration and integration. The workshop participants met with academics, policy analysts, and NGO representatives to discuss immigration policy and politics in the U.S. and attempts to manage the flow of international migration.

The Washington portion of the workshop was devoted to the questions of international migration. Professor Susan Martin, Director of the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University and former Executive Director of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, outlined the history of international cooperation in migration management. Coordinated migration management in Europe dates back to World War I, she said, when European governments introduced border passport requirements to control emigration flows. Widespread international cooperation began with a League of Nations conference on passport guidelines in 1920. Today, international cooperation is based on a range of U.N. conventions and international organizations. Unfortunately, as the normative framework of migration management is still weak, there is a growing need for stronger and more coherent leadership on global migration issues today, Martin said.

There also was a conference session with Migration Policy Analyst Madeleine Sumption that focused on the global migration of high-skilled individuals. The discussion started with supply and demand of highly-skilled labor in developed countries, continued with visa rules and regulations for highly-skilled migrants, and continued on to analyze the impact of visa requirements on migration patterns.

The New York part of the workshop concentrated on U.S immigration policy. The program began with a field trip to Sunset Park, a growing and rapidly-transforming multiethnic neighborhood in Brooklyn. Meetings with representatives of local NGOs provided the participants with valuable insight into the area’s vibrant multicultural life. Subsequent discussion sessions, held at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, dealt with demographic change in New York City and its effects on the redistricting process.

The day concluded with an evening discussion with Professor Kenneth Prewitt, Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs at Columbia University and former Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, hosted by White & Case. Participants at the session critically examined the role of race and ethnicity in U.S. immigration debate and the need for the development of new Census questions and categories describing ethnic and racial groups.

The final workshop panels were organized in cooperation with DEMOS, a progressive New York think-tank that works on immigration and advocacy. The participants debated the challenges of immigrants’ rights and the sources of anti-immigrant sentiment with researchers, activists and local politicians.

The closing event of the workshop was hosted by Deutsche Bank. Angela Kelley, Vice-President for Immigration and Advocacy at the Center for American Progress, presented a keynote speech on the current challenges of immigration policy and politics in the U.S. Afterward, she answered numerous questions on immigration reform and the states’ reaction to the broken federal immigration system.

The workshop was organized in cooperation with the BMW Center for German and European Studies at Georgetown University and the Center for Urban Research of the City University of New York. The project was supported by the Max Kade Foundation and the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.